Internet Policy for Your Office

When creating a company-wide Internet-use policy, address the following issues:

• Are employees permitted to browse the Web for personal use as well as for business purposes?

• Can employees use the Internet for personal use during lunch hours or after hours, for instance?

• Does the company monitor the use of Web; if yes, how does it monitor it? Also, what level of privacy can the employees expect?

• Has the company listed unacceptable web activity in detail? Several companies have enlisted the following activities or behaviour as offensive:

  • Threatening or violent behaviour

  • Offensive content downloads

  • Commercial solicitations (non-business related)

  • Other illegal activities

After creating a detailed Internet Policy, provide two copies of the policy to employees—one for them to keep and another for them to sign and return to you.